While we talk about the tenuous relationship between Christians and Jews dating back to the time of Christ, the seeds of schism within Judaism may have been sown more than 500 years before. Jeremiah was one of a group of distinguished prophets whose works became part of the Old Testament canon. Jewish “wisdom” prophets lectured, warned, and rebuked all who would listen about the sins of their own people, the punishments God had prescribed for them, and what they needed to do to get back into good graces. of God. Some prophets have been targeted. Jewish monarchs as an idolatrous distraction that prevented the people from correctly hearing the Word of God. Other prophets still affirmed that the Jews must continue to believe that God would not abandon his chosen people. Whatever the specific message, it was clear that the overall prophetic approach to God's covenant with the Jewish people was changing. “A good century after the return from exile… the doctrine of punishment, of the justice of God, who rewards and punishes. “..had been broken,” said Catholic theologian Hans Kung in his book Judaism: Between Yesterday and Tomorrow (Kung 113). In the passage quoted from Jeremiah above, the prophet predicted that a new covenant would be formed between God and his people. , an agreement that would replace the pact made between Moses and God at Sinai and at the Red Sea. The first covenant, Jeremiah indicated, would become null and void because of the sins of the Jewish people. The new covenant would absolve these sins and reaffirm God’s faithfulness to his people. “This famous prophecy constitutes the foundation and core of the central theological teaching of the New Testament,” said the Collegeville Bible Commentary on the Old Testament. "It underlies, but without explicit references, much of St. John's 'new life' theology and is central to Jesus' teaching in John's Last Supper discourse." (Collegeville 469). Although Jeremiah is interpreted from many angles, some early Christian apologists corrected his words as an indication that the Jews had been rejected by God because they had not remained faithful to Him and His covenant with Moses. Jesus of Nazareth was the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecies, according to some, and the Jews would remain rejected and condemned... middle of paper ...... 0/18/97). In fairness, during the first 1900 years after the Jewish schism, Catholic and Christian attitudes toward Jews were not all uniformly oppressive. For limited periods, tolerable conditions were applied in some countries to people of the Jewish faith. Some Catholic leaders also found ways to show tolerance and understanding toward Jews. It should also be noted that conversely, rabbinic Judaism also demonstrated contempt in words, writings, and deeds toward Christians throughout these centuries. Recent efforts by Jewish historians such as Berkeley's David Biale emphasize success, achievement and power. foundations that Jews had at various times during this period (Kung page 159.) Although predominant in its history, the Jewish heritage is not simply one of continued suffering, persecution, and enslavement. Nonetheless, the majority of available historical evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that theologically fueled anti-Semitism prevailed during the nineteen centuries following the death of Christ, and that many of these attitudes and persecutions provided logical sequences which led to the European anti-Semitic atrocities of the 20th century.